Tag: how to find which process is using a directory

When you find then your system has slowed down and/or a few programs are not responding, you typically open the Windows Task Manager to check the processes that were running, and disable a few. However, it is difficult to determine the file/directory that the processes are accessing. Process Explorer 11.02 resolves this by giving you all the information you need on the running processes and monitor them as per your need.

The application interface has two windows – one on top of the other vertically. The one on top lists the currently running processes, such as the DLLs/handles that the processes have loaded, and the corresponding user account that controls them. The window at the bottom displays information according to the mode of the Process Explorer. The handle mode means that the bottom window will show the handles of a selected process (in the window above); whereas the DLL mode means that it will show the memory-mapped files/DLLs opened by the selected process.

You can even search the processes that might have caused a particular DLL/handle to be loaded – a highly useful feature in tracking problems related to handle leaks, or different DLL versions. Moreover, the whole exercise of tracking processes to their DLLs/handles is insightful for the way your system works.

The latest version can even fix column set bugs along with bugs related to NT 4 transfer protocol functionalities. Process Explorer is compatible with most of the Windows versions, including the recent Vista editions.